


but you had to come along, didn't you?

by ThunderstormsandMemories



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Other, Pirates, Rapunzel Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 21:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13016178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderstormsandMemories/pseuds/ThunderstormsandMemories
Summary: Mako is a thief who just wants to steal important state secrets in peace, Cass is trapped in a cursed tower on an enchanted island, and Aria is a not a pirate, thank you very much.





	but you had to come along, didn't you?

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Stray Italian Greyhound by Vienna Teng because I'm emo and gay

This was supposed to be an easy job. Or at least that’s what Aria said that Paisley said. Admittedly, Paisley wasn’t the most honest source of information, but even AuDy had agreed that it shouldn’t be too hard, even if it was official state secrets. Bigger stakes, maybe, but once you got down to it, even a government was just a group of people, and people were easy to steal from. Well. Most governments. The Diaspora was a different story. Anyway, the document they needed was, according to Paisley, in a locked chest at the top of a tower on an island off the coast of Apotine. It was, in Mako’s opinion, a little too old-fashioned and fairy tale, but that was the Apostolosian Empire for you. Why do sensible things like keeping your important top-secret magical weapon plans close where you could keep an eye on them when instead you could make it so that all a would-be thief had to do was follow a treasure map like some kind of pirate?

(Aria liked to say that they were privateers, not pirates, and AuDy would remind her that they hadn’t taken an official job in months, not since they’d made such a mess of rescuing Orth. Mako didn’t care, honestly, no matter how hard Aria tried to make them into revolutionaries. He had friends, and they usually got paid, and that was enough for him.)

It had been going so smoothly. The Kingdom Come had anchored in a small cove on the far side of the island, out of sight of the tower, just in case it was guarded. It wasn’t supposed to be, but ever since Aria lost her arm and Mako nearly bled out they’d all been a lot more cautious, and anyway, it was an easy enough walk across the island. No sign of guards, or even a dragon, which Mako personally had been hoping for. Only a thin layer of enchantment, probably some kind of simple warding spell, that Mako dispelled without much thought.

The tower was shorter than it looked from the sea, all smooth grey stone, with no doors and one window near the top. The window was open, which was weird, but Mako wasn’t about to complain that someone’s careless fuck-up had made his life easier. He climbed the tower easily enough. It had been built to keep out your casual, garden-variety petty thief, not for Mako Trig, thief and magician and all-around resourceful guy. Also, he could fly, which helped in these kinds of situations. Not very well, and not very far, and not without the aid of an enchanted amulet that he’d put himself hopelessly into debt to buy, but well enough to get up to the open window of the tower and perch on the sill.

No problems so far, except that the room wasn’t empty, and Mako nearly fell from the window sill in his frantic effort to not immediately reveal himself. Which, of course, meant the person in the room heard and turned around, and Mako recovered his balance and tried to make it look like he’d landed gracefully. Unfortunately for him, the person currently glaring daggers at him- not literally, thankfully- was incredibly, unbelievably attractive.

“What are you doing here?” he said, before the hot person had a chance to do more than open their mouth.

“I live here,” they said indignantly. “What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“Nothing,” Mako said. “I’m supposed to be here. I’m here to do something completely normal, and legal, and reasonable.” As he rambled, he tried to size up this person who definitely wasn’t supposed to be here, no matter what they said. They were Apostolosian, with bright teal scales glimmering across their high cheekbones and what seemed to Mako like impractically long hair, coiled behind them in a thick, heavy braid. Their clothing was in an Apostolosian style, all deep blues and gold ribbon, and probably cost more than Mako could make legally in a year, but it wasn’t a uniform. Not enough buttons, no sword belt, too loose around their arms and slipping off one shoulder like a nightgown and- and fuck, they probably really did live here, didn’t they? Mako was going to have some strong words with Paisley when he got back about the accuracy of his intelligence, but first he was going to apologize for invading this person’s home, figure out how to get what he came for without them getting in the way, and maybe figure out what the fuck someone was doing living in a supposedly abandoned tower on an uninhabited island home only to a piece of highly classified military intelligence that could start or end wars if it fell into the wrong hands. Hopefully the hands Mako was going to deliver it to weren’t the wrong ones, but even Paisley probably didn’t know that. Anyway. The hot person was still staring at him, and it was starting to make him nervous.

“Is that so,” they said, raising one eyebrow, and Mako wondered if it was possible to be any more unimpressed.

“Yeah,” said Mako. “I mean, I’m here, right? And this place is so secret and shit that I couldn’t possibly be here without proper authorization.”

“Yeah, about that,” they said, “how did you even get in? No one is supposed to be able to get on or off the island, unless… you’re not a prince, are you?”

“Course I am,” said Mako, not sure why he said it, except that very few people were allowed to arrest a prince for trespassing, which at the moment seemed like a pretty good deal.

“Oh,” they said, “that’s good. From where?”

“Uh, House Rosemoon,” he said, improvising wildly and hoping the average Apostolosian didn’t have too much knowledge of the September Institute. “Mode City.”

“Never heard of it.”

“I’m not surprised,” Mako muttered, hopping down from the window sill and looking around for a locked chest, preferably one with a lid marked “important government documents here.” The room was sparsely but expensively furnished, everything of unnecessarily fine quality but no personal touches that Mako could make out.

“So,” they said, standing in the center of the room, arms crossed, as he paced around them, reaching out tentatively with his magic to maybe find a trace of what he was looking for.

“So?”

“So what’s your name?”

“Mako,” he said, and he felt it, at the edge of his awareness, the telltale trace of Apostolosian concealment magic. The chest was hidden, not quite invisible but blending in with the wall behind it so well that it might as well have been. “And anyway, why do you get to ask me for my name? I’m a prince, I don’t have to answer questions.”

Now they looked offended, and Mako stopped pacing and turned to face them, his hands behind his back so that he could feel for the lock. He probably could’ve done it with his mind alone, but the physical contact made it easier and he didn’t want to take any chances.

“You’re in my home,” they said, “and don’t you know who I am?”

“Sorry,” Mako said, and the lock clicked open softly. “And uh, no? Should I?”

“Yeah, kind of,” they said. “I thought that was why you were here. I’m Cassander? You know, the youngest royal child?” Mako gave them a blank stare which, to be fair, had just as much to do with the fact that he was trying to summon an invisible piece of paper out of an invisible chest and into his hand while holding a conversation as it did with his complete disinterest in Apostolosian politics. They sighed and said, “Of the imperial family? The one who was heir to the throne for like two seconds and then got sent away to a cursed island the minute the real heir recovered?” That sounded vaguely familiar, like something Aria and Jamil had been talking last time they’d all met up, but he had given up trying to follow everything that Jamil talked about. With everything she knew, she probably had more secrets than even he did.

“When you say cursed,” Mako said, trying desperately not to do any sort of victory dance as he felt the pages of the document transfer into his pockets, “you mean that figuratively, right? As in, you really really hate it?”

“You don’t know about the curse? What are you even doing here- You do at least know this is Apostolosian land, right?”

“Yeah, obviously,” Mako said, now sidling back toward the window. “But what about that curse? That sounds super interesting.”

“It’s mostly just a legal thing, but they bound it in some weird old magic to make it more official.” Cassander shrugged, giving Mako a disapproving look as they noticed him trying to sneak away. “I can’t leave the tower unless I’m rescued by someone from another royal family. I think the idea is that whoever it is will marry me and then I’ll be someone else’s problem and not messing up the line of succession anymore, but that part’s probably optional. The more important part is, you got in here so you should be able to take me away. I just need a ride to somewhere outside Apostolosian control, and I can pay you.” They said this all very fast, and then crossed their arms like they were waiting for Mako to respond.

Mako was already running through his options, considering what Aria, AuDy, and Jacqui would say if he showed up back at the ship with a wanted royal fugitive in tow. Aria at least would find it incredibly exciting and romantic, like some kind of fairy tale bullshit. Which Mako had to admit, it kind of was. Fucking Apostolos, with their curses and treasure maps and endless need for drama. “Alright, then let’s get going,” he said, stepping up onto the window sill. “You ready?”

“Almost,” Cassander said, slinging a heavy-looking bag over their shoulder, as if they were already packed to leave at a moment’s notice. Which, honestly, Mako probably would too, if he were trapped in a magical tower at the whims of loopholes in a legally binding curse. Actually, Mako would have been too busy trying to escape to pack but whatever. Some people wasted time planning ahead. Other people just went for it and hoped for the best, and that usually worked better anyway. “You do have a ladder, right?”

“I don't need one,” Mako said, making a mental note to tell AuDy that putting them all in debt had paid off after all, and therefore no one should ever question any of his ideas again. “Grab my hand.”

“What? Why? I'm not jumping, the fall will kill us both.”

“Trust me,” Mako said. “We’re gonna fly.” Cassander took his hand, and Mako stepped off the window sill into the sky, where he hovered for a moment, waiting for them to join him. And then they did, and sure, Mako was showing off a little more than he needed to, but rescuing royalty from cursed towers was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and what was the point if you weren’t going to do it with style? Also, as soon as they started moving instead of just hovering, Cassander laughed, suddenly and brightly, like it had been startled out of them, and if flying was what it took to make them laugh, then Mako never wanted to land.

He wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking, or if Cassander really was slow to let go of his hand once their feet touched the ground, but either way, Cassander’s voice was soft when they said, after a few moments of walking in comfortable silence, “I just realized, I never thanked you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Mako said, flapping his hand like he was waving away anything as formal and awkward as small talk and gratitude. “Listen, Cass- can I call you Cass?”

“Sure?” said Cass.

“I have to tell you something. I’m not really a prince. I’m just a really good magician. Also a thief. And a pirate, though technically Aria says we’re more like privateers.”

“Yeah,” said Cass. “I kind of figured that out. The not-a-prince part, I mean. And I guessed about the thief and magician thing. Pirate was a surprise, though.”

“Privateer,” Mako corrected, grinning.

“Right,” Cass said, clearly unconvinced but smiling back at Mako, and there was something shining in their eyes, maybe just excitement at being out of their tower, but maybe some kind of fondness, and that possibility made Mako feel as though he was still flying.

And then there was the sound of branches rustling, of rough footsteps crashing around in the undergrowth, and before Mako could react Cass had stepped in front of him, pulling a heavy, dangerous-looking sword from behind their back where it had, apparently, been concealed under their hair in the back of their nightgown.

It would have been incredibly touching and dramatic, except that when someone did come stumbling through the trees a moment later, it wasn’t a guard or, unfortunately, a dragon, but Aria, who looked from Mako, to Cass and their sword, and immediately drew her own blade. Mako scrambled to step in between them, not wanting to see what would happen if Aria, who for all that she had a magic sword had spent most of her life as a bard, tried to fight literal royalty, who had probably been training for combat all of their life. “Wait, wait, wait. It’s cool. Cass, this is my friend Aria. Aria, this is… this is Cass. They’re cool.”

Aria lowered her sword, raising an eyebrow at Mako in a way that very clearly meant  _ if you say so _ and also  _ you better fucking be right about this _ to which Mako responded with a shrug that hopefully communicated  _ I do say so and I’m always right _ . “What happened? AuDy said they felt something weird with the magic on the island and wanted me to make sure you were alive.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Mako. “That was probably just me breaking the curse.”

“The curse?” Aria said, looking far more concerned than comforted by what was meant to be mostly reassuring and only a little bit bragging. “Mako, what did you do?”

“Nothing!” he said, putting his hands up defensively. “I mean, not nothing. I got what we came here for, and also met Cass and-” He stopped abruptly, not sure how much of their life story they wanted him to share with another stranger, or if they even wanted anyone else to know who they really were.

“I was in the cursed tower and Mako rescued me,” said Cass helpfully, finally putting his sword away. “He said it wouldn’t be a problem for you to take me to the next port, as long as it’s not Apostolosian? I have coin, and I’m a doctor; that should be useful to have around on a pirate ship, right?”

“Mako,” Aria said, turning slowly back toward him, “why do I say about telling people we’re pirates?”

“That it’s the best way to get a date?” And before she could respond, he said, “It worked for you, anyway.”

“That’s different,” she said, but she was blushing, which meant that Mako had won. “I didn’t tell Jacqui I was a pirate.”

“No, you just met her while actively engaging in piracy. And she thought that was kind of hot, which means I’m not wrong.”

“Whatever,” Aria said. “Cass, how do you feel about Counterweight?”

“Never been there,” Cass said, “but just about anywhere sounds better than here.”

“Counterweight is where we live, it’s great. Well, it’s kind of shitty, actually, but it’s where we’re headed next, and there are always plenty of jobs of...varying degrees of legality, in case you don’t want to stay with us.”

Cass shrugged and said, “Sure, why not?” and Mako’s stupid optimistic heart felt like it was doing backflips.

 

\---

 

If you were used to royal Apostolosian ships, with their golden sails and impossibly graceful construction, the Kingdom Come was probably a little underwhelming: a small, clunky patchwork of a ship that looked like it should barely be seaworthy, but Cass looked at it like it was the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen. Aria greeted Jacqui with a kiss and then told her to introduce Cass to AuDy, waiting before they were both belowdecks to turn on Mako. “So, is that who I think it is?”

“I don’t know, who do you think it is?”

“Mako, don’t tell me we have the youngest member of the Apostolosian royal family on our ship right now.”

“Okay,” he said. “I won’t.”

“Mako!”

“Alright, fine,” he said. “They’re that one who was heir for like two seconds and then got sent away when the real heir recovered. Except apparently in Apostolosian ‘sent away’ means locked up in a magical tower on a cursed island until you get rescued by someone from a different royal family, or just someone who’s really good at magic. Apparently.”

“I see,” said Aria. “And you brought them with you because it was the right thing to do, and because curses like that are the remnants of an unjust and oppressive system, and definitely not because they’re attractive and royal and also a doctor, and they keep giving you these  _ looks _ .”

“You were the one who invited them to join our crew, just like you did with Jacqui, except this time… wait, what looks?”

“Oh, nothing,” Aria said, her voice light and teasing. “But what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to help my friends with their love lives?”

“We just met,” Mako said. “They might not even stay.”

Aria just hummed, thoroughly unconvinced, and then nodded to the door, where Cass and Jacqui were emerging onto the deck. “AuDy says we’re just about ready to go,” Jacqui said. “Babe, you want to help me pull the anchor?” Aria gave Mako a not-so-subtle look and followed after her girlfriend, leaving Mako alone with Cass.

“So,” Mako said, leaning against the railing and trying to act casual.

“So,” Cass echoed, leaning against the railing next to him. They weren’t smiling, exactly, but there was something soft about their expression that made Mako feel like his heart was melting in the warm afternoon sun.

“Come here often?” Mako said, because it was something to say, something silly that he thought might make Cass laugh. When they laughed this time, it was with their whole body, their head thrown back, showing off the lines of scales on their throat that could’ve almost been gills, like it was the funniest joke they’d ever heard, and not something dumb that Mako said to fill the silence.

“Only if you do,” said Cass, which was definitely flirting and Mako was never going to doubt Aria again- well, no, that wasn’t true, but he wasn’t going to be able to give her shit about this specific situation- and he had to force himself to get his racing thoughts under control and think of something else witty to say. He couldn’t think of anything in time that wasn’t  _ has anyone ever told you that you’re really really beautiful _ which, while true, wasn’t exactly the tone he was going for, and Cass was talking again anyway. “Seriously, though. I’m glad you were the one who broke the curse.”

“Oh,” Mako said. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Cass, and Mako noticed suddenly how very close they were standing, how little space there was between Cass’s hand on the railing and his own. It would’ve been so easy to reach out, but he didn’t want to be the one to cross that line, not when they had just met. Except he’d spent too long now staring at their hands and the space between them, and Cass looked down at their hands too. Mako turned away, squinting into the sun that was reflecting off the sea, pretending he hadn’t been overthinking how many inches of personal space he should be leaving. Except Cass didn’t leave, like Mako expected, or even move their hand away. Instead they moved closer, resting their hand lightly on top of Mako’s, hesitantly at first, and then, when Mako leaned in to rest his head on Cass’s shoulder, they linked their fingers together and stayed that way, standing together and watching the sun glitter off the ship’s wake as they sailed away from the island, gliding over the water so smoothly that it almost felt like flying.

**Author's Note:**

> This is started out as a Rapunzel AU because every time I draw Cass their hair gets longer and pretty soon there will be no Cass, only a really long braid, and then got wildly out of hand  
> Come yell at me on twitter @s_artemisios


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